Concept

Inciting incident

You might say: catalyst, the call, trigger

The first major event. It upsets the balance of the protagonist’s life and starts the story: Maya finds her name on the list.

What it does
Starts the story’s engine and raises the dramatic question.
Ask
What breaks the normal world, and can she ignore it?
Typical
About 10% (Brody) to 12% (Weiland) of the way through
Trouble
Chapters of backstory before anything happens.

What to look for

  1. A dramatic question opened by the event
  2. Backstory giving way to something happening

Connections

Sources

  1. Robert McKee, Story, ch. 8, The Inciting Incident, pp. 181, 189–193The Inciting Incident, the first major event of the telling, is the primary cause for all that follows
  2. K.M. Weiland, “Quick Guide to Timing Plot Points Within Your Story’s Structure”, Timing Plot Points 101Inciting Event belongs halfway through the First Act, around the 12% mark.
  3. Jessica Brody, Save the Cat! Writes a Novel Starter Kit, pp. 2–3, Introduction to the 15 BeatsCatalyst (10%) – An inciting incident (or life-changing event) that happens to the hero, which will catapult them into a new world or new way of thinking.

Use it on your project

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